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Investing is one of things that can get so complicated that it makes some people just want to run away from the idea. But it doesn’t have to be that way!

Traditional investment advice from humans

Garrett is great for one-time hourly advice when you just want someone to look over a portfolio that you’re basically self-directing.

NAPFA is geared more toward ongoing financial advice over a lifetime rather than the occasional check-in.

For the younger crowd, XY Planning Network is geared toward people in their 20s to 40s who want to pay a monthly fee for advice and comprehensive financial planning.

Robo-advisory services

There are also a lot of choices if you don’t want to talk with a person and prefer to have an algorithm build your portfolio.

I like Wealthfront and Betterment for this purpose. These two companies charge extremely low fees to build a portfolio for you around your age and goals.

Acorns, meanwhile, is a twofer. Acorns gets you to save automatically by putting money aside as you spend day-to-day, and then it builds you a robo-portfolio.

Here’s how it works: You give Acorns your log-in info for your credit or debit card accounts, and then the app rounds up every time you make a purchase so they can invest your small change for you over time.

So let’s say you buy something for $3.24. Acorns will automatically round the purchase up to $4. Then they take that extra 76 cents and put it in savings. Every time you hit the $5 threshold in your account, they take it and invest it for you based on your risk tolerance and retirement horizon.

These old standbys have low costs

As far as individual investment brokers, I’ve seen there’s a real need to tell you who plays it on the level. That’s why I’ve put together this list below.

All the companies on this list are here for two reasons: They treat their clients right, no matter whether that client is big or small. And the cost to you of doing business with them is extremely low. They all offer ultra low-cost funds that keep far more of your money working for you.

Vanguard, Schwab, Fidelity and Black Rock offer large varieties of funds and their cousin, ETFs, at an annual management fee of .05% to .15%. Compare that to the expense of a typical fund choice that can be around 10 times that cost!

Fidelity is a newer entrant into the low-cost world, but they’re now being very aggressive by lowering the cost of a typical stock trade to $4.95. (Schwab, meanwhile, has matched that price.)

Fidelity Go is Fidelity’s answer to Vanguard’s full personal advisory service. It is .35% per year and has only a $5,000 minimum vs. Vanguard’s $50,000 minimum. Fidelity Go uses a combo of robo-advising and human advisors.

I love T. Rowe Price. They are smaller than the others but offer excellent low-cost no-commission funds that follow the traditional active management style. It costs more to invest with T. Rowe Price in comparison to the others, but that’s because it isn’t as passive.

Schwab’s Intelligent Portfolios robo-advising service is a great choice if you have $5,000 or more. Schwab charges no fee to plug you into an extremely low-cost portfolio based on the risk you can handle in an investment account or retirement account. The annual management fee ranges from .08% to around .25%. That’s almost free!

Black Rock is the largest financial house in the world and they’re really focused on rich clients. So if you’re a small retail investor, they’re not probably not the right choice for you — even though they would be a great choice for someone with tremendous wealth.

Here’s a free way to invest!

This is the total opposite of Black Rock. If you are someone who likes to buy and sell individual stocks and you don’t have a lot of money to invest, Robin Hood offers commission-free stock trading. You download their app to your Android or iPhone and you are good to go.

Clark Howard is a consumer expert whose goal is to help you keep more of the money you make. His national radio show and website show you ways to put more money in your pocket, with advice you can trust. More about Clark